Advances in computing technology make it possible to perform trillions of computational operations per second on data sets that are sometimes as large as a trillion bytes. These advances can be largely attributed to the exponential increase in the operating speed and complexity of integrated circuits (ICs). These increases in speed and complexity have been accompanied by a corresponding increase in power consumption. Memory, ubiquitous in computer systems, is responsible for a considerable share.
Power consumption is, of course, generally undesirable due to the monetary and environmental costs associated with the creation, delivery, and storage of electricity. The energy-storage issue is particularly troublesome for mobile computing devices because the desired levels of processing power are incompatible with small, inexpensive batteries. There is therefore a demand for more efficient computing devices, which can be met in part by more efficient memories.